The present invention relates to pointing devices for controlling cursors on displays for personal computers and workstations and laptop computers and the like, and more particularly to devices and methods for translating the position of a computer mouse by finger movements.
The most common form of pointing devices for personal computers and workstations is the electronic mouse.
Touch pads and pointer sticks, because of their compact nature, are the most commonly integrated pointing devices for laptop computers. Most laptop computers also permit an external mouse to be used with the laptop.
The most common form of electronic mouse uses a rubberized ball on the underside of the mouse. Translation of the mouse causes the rubberized ball to roll. The rubberized ball is in contact with a pair of encoder shafts. Rolling motion of the rubberized ball in turn causes the encoder shafts to rotate. The rotation of the encoder shafts, and wheels associated therewith, generates a quadrature signal by the use of two pairs of LED""s and photodetectors. This electronic signal is representative of the translation of the position of the mouse.
In operation, the mouse is grasped with the hand, and movement of the mouse is effected by wrist motion and/or arm motion. The index and middle fingers are poised over actuator buttons, which can vary from one to three buttons and are generally located over the upper distal surface of the mouse.
Prolonged use of the typical electronic mouse necessarily requires prolonged activation of muscles controlling the wrist and arm. It is well known that such prolonged use of the arm and wrist can result in a repetitive stress injury such as carpal tunnel syndrome.
The electronic mouse is preferably used on a mouse pad which is essentially an 8.5 inch by 8.5 inch rubberized mat. The texture on the upper surface of the mouse pad provides traction for the rubberized ball. The size of the mouse pad accommodates the travel of the electronic mouse such that, in moving the cursor from one edge of the display screen to the opposite edge, the rubberized ball of the electronic mouse does not move beyond the edges of the mouse pad.
Many users, particularly users of laptops who choose to use an electronic mouse instead of the integrated pointing device (e.g., touch pad and/or pointer stick) on the laptop, find the mouse pad to be too large.
Many laptop computers now have computing power and display screens comparable to desktop personal computers. More and more, laptop computers are being used as desktop computer replacements. The laptop computers generally have a smaller footprint than desktop personal computers. Many users who use laptop computers as desktop computer replacements prefer to use an externally attached electronic mouse as a pointing device.
Many users find the use of an electronic mouse to be more intuitive, and to provide better control of the cursor on the display screen, than the laptop pointer stick. The pointer stick requires an external button to activate a selection after positioning the cursor at a desired location on the display screen. To click the selection button, the user either has to re-position their digit (usually the index finger) over the selection button or use another digit (such as the thumb) to click the selection button. Many users find this secondary maneuver to be cumbersome.
The touch pad also suffers from similar disadvantages when making a selection. More particularly, with the touch pad, movement of the cursor is controlled by movement of the tip of a finger over the surface of the touch pad. When a desired location of the cursor is reached, to make a selection, the user has to make a distinct tap on the surface of the touch pad, i.e., by lifting the finger off the surface of the touch pad and then hitting the surface of the touch pad with the tip of the finger. Because there is no distinct mechanical clicking associated with the act of selection, the user is not provided with an immediate sensory feedback to signal a successful selection. Touch pads are also typically provided with external selection buttons, but these are associated with the same disadvantages previously described for the pointer stick.
Unfortunately, however, a typical electronic mouse, because of its size and long cable, does not allow for easy storage, e.g., with a mobile laptop computer.
To minimize the risk of repetitive stress injury and to improve the ease of use of the electronic mouse, there is a need for a novel electronic mouse that integrates the pointing and selection functions. There is also a need for a smaller electronic mouse that can operate on a mouse pad with a smaller footprint.
The present invention substantially overcomes the foregoing limitations of typical prior art electronic pointing devices by providing an electronic mouse in which the pointing and selection functions can be controlled by a single finger. Thus, the risk of repetitive stress injury is minimized by avoiding the constant wrist and arm movements used to control the movements of a conventional mouse. The present invention can be implemented with a optomechanical mouse or with an optical mouse.
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a pointing device controlled substantially by finger movement.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a pointing device in which the movement of the pointing device and the selection button are operated by the same finger.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an electronic mouse that can operate over a mouse pad with a small footprint.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide an electronic mouse that allows for easy storage and deployment.
The present invention substantially overcomes the foregoing limitations of typical prior art electronic pointing devices by providing an electronic mouse controlled substantially by finger movement. The translation of the mouse can be controlled by the index finger placed over the primary selection button. Means for facilitating translation of the position of the mouse are provided for in the primary selection button. Means for facilitating translation of the position of the mouse include, but are not limited to, concave depressions, protrusions, and surface texture having a high coefficient of friction.